Since 1995, Friends of the Central Library (FOCL) has brought 150 celebrated authors to speak in Syracuse as part of the Rosamond Gifford Author Series. This annual series draws visitors from all over Central New York and helps raise funds to support Onondaga County Public Libraries.

On Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m., FOCL will present Jesmyn Ward as the first author in the 25th season at the Civic Center in downtown Syracuse. Tickets can be purchased by calling (315) 435-2121 or by visiting www.foclsyracuse.org.

A MacArthur Fellow as well as a two-time National Book Award winner, Jesmyn Ward has been recognized among TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. She grew up and still lives in Mississippi, with much of her writing focusing on the Gulf Coast of the state and how Hurricane Katrina impacted the lives of black people residing there.

To check out books by Jesmyn Ward, stop by your local Onondaga County Public Library or visit www.onlib.org to browse the online catalog.

Ward’s debut novel follows Joshua and Christophe, fraternal twins coming of age in the aftermath of Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Joshua finds a job as a dock laborer but Christophe struggles to find work and turns to drug dealing. An unexpected return from their absent father puts more stress on the twins’ already tense relationship with each other and stirs up a painful mixture of emotions they feel toward their parents.

Katrina is approaching. 14-year-old Esch hides her pregnancy while she and her brothers set aside what little food they can for the storm and her alcoholic father works to secure the house. It’s the best they can do with the limited resources they have. Drawing from Greek mythology, this family will love fiercely and fight through the tragedy that looms over them.

Thirteen-year-old Jojo and his little sister Kayla are under the care of their grandparents, Mam and Pop. Leonie, the children’s mother, struggles with drug addiction and is haunted by visions of her dead brother. When her white boyfriend, the father of her children, is released from prison, Leonie takes Jojo and Kayla on a road trip to pick him up. There Jojo meets his own ghost, a boy who was imprisoned at the same time with Pop.